The Winners and Losers of Post-Super Bowl TV

The Super Bowl is almost always the highest rated broadcast of the year (and this year was no exception). It makes sense to try and take advantage of those new viewers by airing a series that is hopeful to become a hit. At one time the belief was to launch a new series in the slot, but it has proven to be a failure almost every time (The Wonder Years and A-Team being two major exceptions). The last 20 years it has mostly been airing established shows that networks desire to snag a bigger audience. Here is a ranking of the last 20 years (including this year’s New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine) of lead-out shows based on their TV ratings along with some thoughts on their success afterwards.